On a couple of occasions, I've come across artifacts from the CAA at stores and estate sales. Nat and I have bought a few serving pieces for my sister and her husband and given them as Christmas/birthday gifts over the years. The CAA has a wide variety of serving pieces and dishes that have been sold/taken that have shown up in the market online, too.

This is a silver spoon from Reed and Barton that I when I saw it, I knew that I had to buy it. When you pick it up, you notice that it is old. It is tarnished and just feels old. It is heavy yet delicate. A look at the end of the spoon and - if you know the CAA - you instantly recognize the logo. It is the Cubs' "C" inside of a circle. I knew this wasn't from the Cubs, but the CAA.

Flipping the spoon over, you see that it is monogramed with "Chicago Athletic Association" on the reverse side of the handle. Further down - not in this picture below - it is also marked "Reed & Barton".

There can't be very many buyers of a single spoon from a non-defunct club in Chicago, right? I was going to pass on this, per my collecting mantra, but since it is a gift, I felt good about buying it.

What she'll do with it, I have no idea. But, I'm hoping that she'll just use it. You can't really beat this thing up any more than it is, right? It likely needs a little polish to take the tarnish off - or not - and then press it into service. The handle is a bit long, so it might be awkward for cereal, but perfect for a sugar bowl or something when she has parties.

Earlier this winter, I wrote about the old Lou Malnati's menu and mentioned that as I was waiting around for my pie to finish up, I spied an old Chicago Tribune article posted on the wall that included the original Lou Malnati's Italian Salad Dressing Recipe. The Tribune reporter called it "prized". We were set to host a little pizza party over the weekend, so I figured I'd give it a shot. Here's the article as seen through my mobile phone's camera.
I'm not a wine drinker, so the fact that the recipe called for Burgundy wine didn't strike me as odd. I went shopping at Angelo Caputos in Addison - a really incredible shopping experience - and when I got to the wine section I found Burgundy wine was carried ONLY in those HUGE jugs. And they were dirt cheap. The only issue is that needed just 4 ounces. We ended up with a whole-lotta-wine that Nat won't drink.

I've taken the recipe and modified it a bit by eliminating the percentages (60…

Last week, I was in the Elmhurst Lou Malnati's picking up a pie and noticed that they're NOW selling a bottled version of their salad dressing they've called "Lou Malnati's Sweet Vinaigrette". That's the second consumer packaged good they have in their take-out shops - with the first being Lou Malnati's Tomatoes. They sell it in 16 oz jars.

I didn't catch a price, but I did catch a photo of the ingredient list.
Hmmm...comparing that to the Lou Malnati's salad dressing recipe, it seems that there are a few differences. First, the bottled dressing uses corn oil (listed first) and olive oil (listed way down), while the recipe posted in the Tribune back 40+ years uses olive oil. The bottled dressing also has mustard, "natural flavors" and a few different preservat…

I'm Jake Parrillo. This is my website.

I'm Jake Parrillo and I'm using this space here on the web as a journal of sorts. I'm a 39 year old father of three (2 beautiful girls and one bouncing baby boy).

We live out in Downers Grove - in the Western Suburbs of Chicago. I work at Edelman, am an Xoogler and a former Village Trustee. (Yes! I was elected to office 3X!?!) I'm a pizza fanatic, Disney Dad, gardener, and Lionel O-Gauge fanboy. I (sometimes) post links and videos over at at www.parrillo.info.